Special Collections
Explore Our Collections
WashU Libraries collect, preserve, promote, and make accessible rare, archival, and primary source materials that enrich teaching, learning, and research for the university community and beyond.
The Julian Edison Department of Special Collections focuses on six primary areas: the Dowd Illustration Research Archive, Film & Media Archive, Local History, Manuscripts, Rare Books, and the University Archives. An active program of class visits, exhibitions, workshops, and public events highlights the department’s vital role in scholarship at WashU and the wider community.
To search our collections, visit the Special Collections Research & Access page.
To learn more about giving to Special Collections, visit the Donating to Special Collections page.
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Collection Commencement Collection
The collection includes WashU commencement programs from 1856 to the present.View Collection about Commencement Collection -
Collection Campus Architecture
Explore WashU's historic campus architecture, masonry, decorative grotesques, and more through our digitized resources.View Collection about Campus Architecture -
Collection Early University History
From the earliest surviving letter to our Inaugural Address, these items showcase the beginnings of WashU.View Collection about Early University History -
Collection Catalogs, Course Bulletins, and Alumni Directories
University Archives has physical copies of catalogs, course bulletins, and alumni directories. A few are digitized and available online.View Collection about Catalogs, Course Bulletins, and Alumni Directories -
Collection LGBTQ+ History
WashU Libraries joined the St. Louis LGBTQ+ History Project's Collecting Initiative to ensure this history is preserved.View Collection about LGBTQ+ History -
Collection Business History
St. Louis-based company archives added in the 1980s; business history is no longer a subject actively collected by the archives...View Collection about Business History -
Collection The Great Depression Interviews
Each video and transcript details the stories of those struggling and surviving through The Great Depression.View Collection about The Great Depression Interviews -
Collection Materials for the Book of Ephraim
The James Merrill Digital Archive provides digital access to a cross-section from the James Merrill Papers housed in Special Collections.View Collection about Materials for the Book of Ephraim -
Collection America’s War on Poverty
Documentary and interviews covering events that took place after President Johnson declared an "unconditional war on poverty."View Collection about America’s War on Poverty -
Collection Russell Sturgis Photograph Collection
Focuses on European architectural details, topographical views, sculpture, and painting, there are also images from other cities and archaeological sites.View Collection about Russell Sturgis Photograph Collection -
Collection Chinese Special Collection
The Chinese Special Collection includes: About 60 titles (120 volumes) of Chinese printed works produced between 1569 and 1795 About...View Collection about Chinese Special Collection -
Collection Japanese Special Collection
The Japanese Special Collection contains pre-Meiji (pre-1867) watoji bon, wakoku bon kanseki, and titles produced after 1868.View Collection about Japanese Special Collection
Collecting Areas
Digital Collections
Digital Collections highlight those portions of the Julian Edison Department of Special Collections that have been made or born-digital.
Dowd Illustration Research Archive
The Dowd Illustration Research Archive (formerly Dowd Modern Graphic History Library) at WashU includes original art and printed material from many popular American pictorial graphic culture fields.
East Asian Library Special Collections
The East Asian Library's special collection includes about 900 volumes of rare and special books, manuscripts, and other materials.
Film & Media Archive
The Archive is committed to the preservation of documentary film and other media which chronicles America's great political and social movements with a particular emphasis on the African-American experience.
Kranzberg Art & Architecture Library Special Collections
The Art & Architecture Special Collections is a 4,200-volume collection of rare and unique art and design printed materials located at the Kranzberg Art & Architecture Library. The main focus is illustrated books, prints, and photographs from the 18th and 19th centuries and contemporary book design.
Local History Collections
The local history collecting area focuses on the history of St. Louis and the surrounding region.
Manuscript Collections
WashU Libraries' Julian Edison Department of Special Collections Manuscript collections contain a broad range of materials dating from the 2nd century BC through the present.
Modern Literature Collection
The Modern Literature Collection includes more than 175 authors, presses, and journals, more than 125 of which are represented by manuscript materials.
Music Special Collections
Special Collections at the Gaylord Music Library include sheet music, manuscripts, rare books, and digital materials.
Rare Book Collections
The Rare Book Collections include books from all Special Collection areas. The collections’ primary strengths are in literature, the material culture of the book, including the history of printing, graphic design, and the book arts, and aspects of American and world history.
Washington University Archives
The University Archives chronicles the history of WashU from 1853 to today with over 300 unique collections, including campus publications, reports, photographic prints and negatives, books, film, sound recordings, oral histories, architectural plans, and artifacts.